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Master GuideSign inStaphylococcus aureusThe coagulase-positive staphylococcus — golden colonies, a big toxin arsenal, and resistance from penicillin to MRSA and VRSA.
Master GuideSign inCoagulase-negative StaphylococciS. epidermidis and S. saprophyticus: catalase-positive, coagulase-negative, non-haemolytic, and told apart by novobiocin.
Master GuideSign inStreptococcus pyogenesGroup A streptococcus — M protein, pyrogenic exotoxins, and the two complications: rheumatic fever and glomerulonephritis.
Master GuideSign inStreptococcus agalactiaeGroup B streptococcus — CAMP-positive and bacitracin-resistant, the cause of early- and late-onset neonatal infection.
Master GuideSign inStreptococcus pneumoniaeThe pneumococcus — lancet-shaped diplococci, a polysaccharide capsule, bile solubility, and meningitis, otitis, pneumonia and sinusitis.
Master GuideSign inViridans StreptococciS. mutans and S. sanguis — optochin-resistant, bile-insoluble α-haemolytic streptococci behind dental plaque and subacute endocarditis.
Master GuideSign inEnterococcusE. faecalis and E. faecium — bile-resistant, salt-tolerant and intrinsically resistant to vancomycin — and their infections.
Master GuideSign inNeisseria meningitidisThe meningococcus — glucose and maltose fermenter, strict aerobe, and the cause of petechial rash, DIC and Waterhouse–Friderichsen.
Master GuideSign inNeisseria gonorrhoeaeThe gonococcus — glucose-only, non-capsulated, living inside neutrophils, with iron-scavenging outer membrane proteins and variable pili.
Master GuideSign inCorynebacterium diphtheriaeClub-shaped rods in V and Y formations whose toxin stops protein synthesis — pseudomembrane, bull neck and myocarditis.
Master GuideSign inBacillus anthracisSpore-forming rods in chains with a protein capsule and a three-part toxin — medusa-head colonies, and the other Bacillus species.
Master GuideSign inClostridium perfringensThe non-motile, capsulated clostridium — alpha toxin, gas gangrene, slow-onset food poisoning and a double zone of haemolysis.
Master GuideSign inClostridium botulinumThe toxin that blocks acetylcholine release — food-borne, infant and wound botulism with descending flaccid paralysis.
Master GuideSign inClostridium tetaniDrumstick spores and a toxin that blocks inhibitory transmitters — trismus, risus sardonicus and opisthotonus, then prevention.
Master GuideSign inClostridium difficileGut flora turned hospital pathogen: toxins A and B and pseudomembranous colitis after antibiotics, diagnosis and treatment.
Master GuideSign inKlebsiella pneumoniaeThe heavily capsulated, non-motile, urease-positive lactose fermenter — mucoid colonies, lobar pneumonia and liver abscesses.
Master GuideSign inProteus mirabilisThe swarming, fishy-smelling, urease-positive non-lactose fermenter that alkalinises urine and builds stones.
Master GuideSign inEscherichia coliThe motile, indole-positive lactose fermenter of the gut, and its pathotypes from infant diarrhoea to UTI, meningitis and HUS.
Master GuideSign inSalmonellaTyphoid and non-typhoidal salmonellosis: the motile, H₂S-producing intracellular pathogens, the Vi capsule, culture and treatment.
Master GuideSign inShigellaNon-motile, H₂S-negative invaders that ride actin inside cells — Shiga toxin, bloody diarrhoea and haemolytic uraemic syndrome.
Master GuideSign inPseudomonas aeruginosaThe oxidase-positive, non-fermenting aerobe of water, burns and hospitals — fruity odour, blue-green pigments and exotoxin A.
Master GuideSign inLegionella pneumophilaAn aerosol-borne water organism that multiplies inside macrophages — Pontiac fever and Legionnaires' disease.
Master GuideSign inYersinia pestisThe flea-borne cause of plague — bipolar safety-pin bacilli with antiphagocytic defences, and bubonic, septicaemic and pneumonic disease.
Master GuideSign inYersinia enterocoliticaCold-tolerant, iron-hungry Yersinia — bloody diarrhoea in toddlers, appendicitis mimicry and sepsis in iron overload.
Master GuideSign inYersinia pseudotuberculosisThe food-borne Yersinia that loves the cold — fever, right lower quadrant pain and mesenteric lymphadenitis that mimics appendicitis.
Master GuideSign inVibrio choleraeComma-shaped, darting bacilli whose toxin locks adenylate cyclase on — rice-water diarrhoea, and the other Vibrio species.
Master GuideSign inCampylobacter jejuniThermophilic, microaerophilic comma-shaped rods from poultry — bloody diarrhoea, reactive arthritis and Guillain–Barré syndrome.
Master GuideSign inHelicobacter pyloriThe corkscrew-motile stomach coloniser with a powerful urease — ulcers, gastritis, adenocarcinoma and MALToma, and its treatment.
Master GuideSign inHaemophilus influenzaeCoccobacilli that need X and V factors — type b meningitis, epiglottitis, satellitism, H. ducreyi and the HACEK group.
Master GuideSign inBordetella pertussisThe biochemically inert coccobacillus of whooping cough: its toxins aimed at the ciliated airway, culture, diagnosis and vaccines.
Master GuideSign inBrucellaFarm-animal coccobacilli that hide inside macrophages — undulant fever, organomegaly and chronic osteomyelitis.
Master GuideSign inPasteurella multocidaCapsulated coccobacilli from the mouths of small mammals — rapid cellulitis after cat or dog bites.
Master GuideSign inFrancisella tularensisA facultative intracellular coccobacillus from rabbits — painful ulcer, regional nodes and caseating granulomas.
Master GuideSign inMycobacterium tuberculosisThe acid-fast, slow-growing obligate aerobe — mycolic acid, cord factor, the Ghon complex, reactivation and the first-line drugs.
Master GuideSign inMycobacterium lepraeThe cool-loving, uncultivable acid-fast bacillus of leprosy — tuberculoid to lepromatous, and the lepra reactions.
Master GuideSign inAtypical MycobacteriaM. avium complex, M. scrofulaceum and M. marinum: acid-fast granuloma-formers of the immunocompromised, children's necks and aquariums.
Master GuideSign inActinomycetesFilamentous anaerobes of the mouth: cervicofacial, thoracic and abdominopelvic actinomycosis, draining sinuses and sulphur granules.
Master GuideSign inTreponema pallidumThe uncultivable spirochaete of syphilis — primary chancre to tertiary gumma, congenital disease, and two tiers of serology.
Master GuideSign inBorrelia burgdorferiThe tick-borne spirochaete of Lyme disease — bull's-eye rash, then heart block and Bell's palsy, then arthritis.
Master GuideSign inBorrelia recurrentisThe louse-borne spirochaete that changes its coat — relapsing fever with crisis phases, jaundice and thrombocytopenia.
Master GuideSign inLeptospira interrogansA question-mark-shaped spirochaete from animal urine in water — conjunctival suffusion and Weil's disease.
Master GuideSign inChlamydiaEnergy parasites with a two-form life cycle: C. trachomatis (genital infection, LGV, trachoma), C. pneumoniae and C. psittaci.
Master GuideSign inMycoplasma pneumoniaeThe smallest free-living bacterium — no peptidoglycan, needs cholesterol to grow, and causes walking pneumonia with cold agglutinins.
Master GuideSign inRickettsiaeObligate intracellular coccobacilli — epidemic typhus from lice and Rocky Mountain spotted fever from ticks.